Ganesh
A relatively undeveloped planet with an enormous population, the planet can easily be called unimportant. The settlers mostly live in slums clustered around aging urban centres. With a lack of resources and massive corruption, the planet is often forgotten and, if not for the few manufacturing corporations that operate on it, would be ignored entirely. General Information Population: Demonym: Ganesha Major Centres: Goa, Delhi History Settlement During the initial wave of settlements, in the 2130s, India was pressed to its limit with massive overpopulation problems. The country had long since expended its natural resources, and had been foiled in several expansionistic wars to try and grab more. The establishment of colonies presented a unique relief for this problem, in the form of removing population from the country. Enlisting the help of several Indian based corporations to help fund the settlement, Ganesh was founded in 2135. Promised dominion over the colony to do with as they saw fit, the corporations immediately began to enlist large groups of settlers to help establish shining urban centres to start their lives anew. Second Wave The corporations, however, were unaware of the government's plan to relocate much of their Earthbound population. As more and more settlers arrived at the colony, the settlements struggled to get themselves established. Choking beneath a flood of refugees, much of the promising development began to sputter. Compounding this problem, many of the new settlers were unemployed from the slums of Mumbai and Delhi, agreeing to the relocation with the promise of jobs on the other end of the journey. With barely any housing available, let alone employment, the new immigrants protested. Lawlessness became common and crime ran rampant. By 2143 the colony was drowning in refugees, slums had grown around the urban centres on the planet, in the case of Goa growing to be five times the size of the city itself. Despite the protests of the corporations on the planet, the Indian government continued sending ships, eager to put the refugees in the hands of someone else. Abandonment After trying to contain the colony to the best of their abilities, the corporations finally gave in to the overwhelming amount of refugees. Abandoning the colony for the nearby Lakshmi in 2150, the refugees on the planet of Ganesh were left to fend for themselves. Still having trouble caring for its own population, the government of India struggled to maintain any connection. Years of stagnation resulted, as no major development was able to be funded on the planet. Cut off and lacking support, the cities began to deteriorate. Many began to starve as they sought out new sources of food, fleeing to the countryside to survive off subsistence farming. Over the course of several years, villages began to emerge as farmers became more organized and able to provide for the population. Sustainability became a real possibility for the colony, one that had seen nothing but volatility and decline for years. Colonial Civil War Ganesh, used to the lack of governance and anarchy that ruled its surface, was surprised during the UCA Crackdown in 2168. The UCN launched an effort to retake much of the planet from the criminals that had infested it, seeing it once again as a new frontier for expansion and authority. From the onset, the UCA forces on the planet were fighting an uphill battle. Deeply entrenched criminal gangs and a culture of freedom contradicted heavily with the cultural shift the UCN brought with it. As the Colonial Sphere rose up, Ganesh was a natural target for the rebels to foster their rebellion. In 2175, after a period of rearmament, the newly minted ICSA arrived in force to wrest the system from the hands of the UCA. Providing relatively little forces on the surface of Ganesh, the ICSA instead blockaded the planet and helped the local forces besiege the UCA soldiers on the planet. This allowed the ICSA to focus on the much more heavily defended Lakshmi. Recovery After the Colonial Civil War, the Colonial Sphere undertook a renewed interest in Ganesh. Not content to let it sit as a hotbed of criminal activity, a government was established to help stabilize the planet. The effort was led by Lakshmi, Ganesh's system neighbour, and helped to establish some control over the urban centres on the planet. With law and order re-established, several manufacturing corporations returned to the surface of Ganesh, seeking to use the vast pool of manpower to support an industry base. Geography The surface of Ganesh is dusty and dry, consisting of escarpments and scrubland. A few small oceans break up the continents, although only Goa is near to one. Most of the pipulation lies in urban centres more akin to slums than anything else. Rickety shantytowns are the norm, spread around a core of concrete and pre-fabricated towers. Outside of the cities, villages spread like a spider web, helping to funnel food into the cities. The villages are small rural affairs, mostly farms taking advantage of whatever fertile land they can find, though this is changing under the current government. Culture The culture of Ganesh is in flux as the planet tries to get itself back on its feet. Much of the urban populations are still fighting poverty and dealing with the crime that infests the cities. Jobs are fought for, with people doing whatever they can to ensure survival. In the villages, it was once the same, though this has changed under the ICSA government. Farmers have received immense support to help the colony sustain itself, and their quality of life has improved immensely. Free from the crowded slums and crime of the cities, the rural civilians are much different than the typical Ganesha. Government The government on Ganesh, such as it is, is supported in some way or another by every ICSA planet. Lakshmi takes the brunt of the work however, due to its proximity to Ganesh and the similarities between the two. Despite this multi-planetary effort, the government still faces enormous obstacles in the development of the colony. Crime maintains a major premise in the planets affairs, and overpopulation of the urban areas is proving difficult to correct. A more positive outlook is coming from the rural regions, where the government is attempting to support farmers and terraform the planet to better help them feed the starving cities. An effort has also been made to shift much of the populations from the cities into the villages to help alleviate overpopulation.